The Great Florida "Drive Out"

Every year, car rental companies find themselves with too many cars in Florida. Over the winter, snowbirds rent cars one-way from cities of the North then turn them in here. This year, as in years past, Alamo offers special deals for travelers who want to rent one of their cars one-way back to Northern cities. Because we plan to leave our boat here for the summer and fall, Mandy and I rented a full sized car for 11 days for $12 per day for our drive home. If you are thinking of coming to Florida for a spring break, you might get in on this deal. Fly one-way to a Florida city then rent a car one-way home. You can rent the car as soon as you arrive and keep it for up to 21 days while roaming the Florida beaches or hanging out in a resort hotel before you start the drive home. You must rent between April 5th and May 31st. Go to Alamo.com and click on HOT DEALS tab. Look for the "Florida one-way rentals from $10 a day". I tried to set up my rental on-line but didn't get the reduced price. A couple calls to 800-GO-ALAMO solved the problem. I was trying to rent the car and return the car to airport locations. The fine print is that you must rent and return to 'office' locations, not airports. The attendant set up the entire trip from pickup in Key Largo to drop-off on West 5th Avenue, a few blocks from our condo.

Here is a "One Man Band" on Mallory Square.

The Loopers and the Key West Mystery Photos

I took this picture a few weeks ago in our marina here at Banana Bay in Marathon Florida. The people standing on their boat are Fred and Linda. They invited everyone in this small marina of about 20 occupied slips to celebrate something special. They had just completed a circumnavigation of the eastern United States. They are members of a group of boaters who endeavor to travel by water from anywhere East of the Mississippi, or on the Mississippi for that matter, in a loop that takes them down the Miss and around to their starting point. They are Loopers.

Here is the route the Fred and Linda and thousands of others have followed to complete "The Loop". Start at your home port, or anywhere you wish, and follow the loop. The Manglesdorfs wanted to finish their loop in the Florida Keys so they powered their boat to this very location last winter then started running North past Miami, past Charleston, up the ICW to NYC, up the Hudson to the old Erie Canal, across to Buffalo, through the Great Lakes to Chicago, down the Chicago River to the Miss, South to the Tennessee-Tombiggee Waterway to Mobile, then back to the Keys and to Banana Bay. The trip took them a year. Some loopers savor the trip and take two years. Others take a longer route and bypass the Erie Canal by running up the Hudson to Gaspe (I think) then down the St Lawrence Waterway to Lake Ontario. With speculation that Cuba might soon be open to US travellers, the loop now might include a diversion to Havana.

This is our our group of Banana Bay pirates. We gather here almost ever night to watch the sun set into some palms to the West. Not the most spectacular sunset but one that includes comeraderie, tall tales, and cocktails without the risk of DUI. Most of these boaters attended Fred and Linda's celebration. Some of them are loopers themselves, having completed the loop in years past. One couple, Jim and Mary on their boat -Sales and Nails, are in the process of completeing the loop. Before they retired,  Linda was a successful saleswoman and Jim was involved in construction. Not everyone who has a fabuluos boat is fabulously rich; just full of fabulous dreams. If you are interested in learning more about the great loop, go to http://www.greatloop.org/

This is Mandy ready for a trip to Key West to watch the Pat Daily show at Sloppy Joe's Bar. She wanted to wear something nicer than shorts and T-shirt so she dressed up a little. She looked so good that during the show someone felt her ass. We think it was a guy - but maybe not.

The Key West Mystery Photo contest is over already. I assumed that a few players would get a few answers correct then someone would answer a few more until one player would have answered more than any other; perhaps four questions. But Tom and Jerilynn (the top left of our follower photos) correctly answered all but four leaving no way for anyone else to surpass them.

To see their answers and my comments go back to the Key West Mystery Photo page and click on 'comments' at the bottom.

Pat Daily at Sloppy Joe's Bar

Pat Daily, who spends his summers (I hear it's coming) singing at Put-In-Bay on Lake Erie also winters in the Keys and does gigs at Sloppy Joe's Bar in Key West. This particular night was 'Ohio Night' at Sloppy Joe's Bar. Here he sings part of his "Ohio" song and has the audience, nearly all Ohioans, chant along. I didn't record the whole song because most of his songs go on forever.

Mystery Photos of Key West

Yesterday, Mandy and I took several pictures that show portions of landmarks around Key West. If you know Key West you might be able to decide where we took the pictures and what is the image in the photo.

Where did I capture the above design?

This door is at 806 Caroline. What is here?

This is the Wolds's Smallest Bar. It has four stools but only two fit at the bar. What street is this?

We met this angelic street actor at what public venue?

This massive cast of a fish sits atop what landmark bar and what is the significance of his large mouth?

This Key West building is the only landmark ever mentioned in a Hemingway novel. In "To Have and Have Not", Pappa Ernie said that when crossing from Cuba to Key West, the lights of this building are the first visible. What is it?

Who is Reba Sawyer, 1900 to 1950 and where is her grave marker? It's not in a grave yard.

This is the men's room of what landmark restaurant? Hint--the urinal is almost alway full of ice.

This is Jill on the left and Todd on the right. You can see they like to advertise their last names on their clothing. Where are they and why does the bartender have red hair?

Where are Mandy and I?

I used this pic of Gerd Rube before. Where is he playing?

Mandy is flirting with the stone cold doorman. Where is she?

If you think you know some of the answers, post them in the 'comments' area by clicking on 'comments' below. Whoever gets the most correct answers can drop by our condo on Hidden Lake and have a few Key West Key Lime Martinis with us this coming summer. If you live someplace nice, we'll bring them to you.

Food, Friends, and Fun

These are the colorful stone crab claws. Here in the keys the stone crab is the common crab of the area. The waterman catch the crab in traps similar to the Chesapeake Bay crab traps but the waterman here tear off one claw and toss the crab back into the water to grow a new claw. The claws are served cold with a tangy mustard sauce. I cleaned these claws to make a crab and cheese omelet on the boat.

I took this photo at an oceanside tiki bar and restaurant on Key Colony. I'm looking East at the line of condos and hotels that line the Florida Straits.

Mandy relaxing at the table in the first photo.

(Above) Tiki bar at Key Colony.

These two pirates, Jeff and Jane, were staying on the boat next to us. They are delivery skippers and both of them have USCG Captains licenses. They have harrowing stories of deliveries to the Bahamas in howling winds and nasty storms. I'm rethinking my ambition to be a delivery captain. We went on a trip to Bahia Honda State Park together then, on the way back, began performing our favorite magic trick-- Drive down the road and turn into a bar. Here, we are at the Sunset Saloon.

In this photo, Mandy is sitting under the US 1 bridge at Bahia Honda State Park. In the distance you can see the old railroad bridge which supported the narrow gauge train that once carried passengers from Miami to Key West. Notice the split in the center. This section of the bridge was removed after the new highway bridge was built so the boat of all sizes could enter the harbor for safe anchorage.

This is a view of the separation in the bridge as seen from the opposite side. The lower part once carried the train. After a devastating hurricane in 1930 which destroyed much of the track and blew the train into the water, the bridge was converted to a highway bridge. Because the train was narrow gauge, the lower span was too narrow for cars and trucks. So the engineers built the highway over the top of the upper supporting structures.

This a view of the bayside (North side) of Bahia Honda State Park taken from the top of the old railroad bridge. You can see the new bridge in the distance. The beach in this picture is great when the Southerly  winds get strong. There is also a larger beach on the ocean side (South side) which comes in handy when the wind blows cold from the North.

We'll be heading to Key West again next week. I hope to get some mystery pictures of scenes in Key West and connoisseurs of the Keys can guess where the pictures were taken and what the subject might be. The person who e-mails me first with the correct answers will win a free drink at Sloppy Joe's Bar. (Winner must collect the prize in person at Sloppy Joe's Bar. Offer void after 2/28/2010)

Raven Cooper at the Schooner Wharf

Mandy loves Raven's voice and guitar work. We stopped at the Schooner Wharf after a visit to a dentist in Key West, the only one in the Keys who could work mandy into his busy schedule to try to diagnose and treat her swollen face and mouthfull of pain.

We also listened to this fellow. I didn't catch his name but he puts on a good show.

A Visit to Key West

This is Michael McCloud's set at the Schooner Wharf in Key West. Notice his dog resting in his guitar case. We rented a car for a week and drove there to visit St Paul Episcopal Church where we were married and to see what's new with food and music.

The good news is that talent has returned to the town. For several years after cruise ships started stopping here, the restaurant and bar owners decided that they didn't need to feature good food and music because the cruisers were going to show up regardless of the quality. They were wrong and the young man pictured above is evidence. The young man above, Gerd Rube, plays so many styles of guitar that I lost track. He has a device by his side that will record a few bars as he creates a background sound. When Gerd hits a foot button, the track plays the recording he just created in a loop while he adds more layers of sound with more guitar and voice.

Then there are the Key West sunsets. I took this one from atop the La Concha Hotel. When I first visited the La Concha in 1976, the hotel was a flop house and condemned above the second floor. Rooms are now $300 per night and up.

The foodies have returned to Key West also demanding better treatment. Mandy is awaiting lunch at the Tree-Top Restaurant. They offer creative local dishes as $5.00 lunch specials.

If you have time, on the way back to Marathon, you can stop at the hard-to-find No Name Pub on hard-to-find No Name Key where patrons have been fastening dollar bills on the walls and ceiling for years.

I hope to post a video of Raven Cooper performing at the Schooner Wharf Bar